PC 08

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATION OF CONDUCTIVE POLYMER COMPOSITE PARTICLES

J. Haina, A. Picha, H.-J. Adlera

aInstitute of Macromolecular Chemistry and Textile Chemistry, Dresden University of Technology, Mommsenstr. 4, D-01069 Dresden, Germany (Jessica.Hain@chemie.tu-dresden.de)

We report on the preparation of conductive hybrid particles with a polymer core and a conductive shell of Polypyrrole (PPy) or Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT). The synthesis of these composites has been realized by a two-step method: the core particles were prepared by surfactant free emulsion polymerization and the conducting polymer shells were deposited by oxidative polymerization of Py and EDOT.

As templates for the deposition of the conductive materials two different polymeric systems were applied. By taking Polystyrene latex particles as core, completely coated core-shell particles with a maximum shell thickness up to 15 nm and 200 nm were obtained for PEDOT and PPy respectively. In the case when temperature-sensitive Poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)-based microgel particles has been used as template, a totally different morphology was achieved. Due to the porous structure of these particles, PEDOT and PPy were deposited in-between the polymer chains of the network leading to the formation of composite particles which exhibit temperature- and pH- sensitivity as well as conductive properties. The prepared hybrid particles were characterized by different spectroscopic methods, light scattering, elementary analysis and XPS. Their application in sensors and actuators will be discussed. This research demonstrates possible approaches to achieve composite particles with defined properties and morphologies for the preparation of special coatings and responsive hydrogels.

Polypyrrole

shell

Polystyrene

Core